Author: Rhys Gregory

FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), is calling on the Welsh Government to review and increase the funding available to support businesses in the sector hit by Covid restrictions introduced over the festive period to ensure that businesses stand the best chance of survival thorough the latest Covid crisis. Businesses in hospitality and those within the supply chain have reported a collapse in trade over recent weeks caused by significantly-reduced footfall and customer inhibition along with the impact of the latest Covid measures in Wales. Many businesses within the sector might normally have expected to make up to a quarter of…

A trio of high achievers are chasing exciting futures in medicine after scooping a Buckley school’s science prize. Elfed High School students Megan Howe-Thatcher, Matteo Molica-Franco and Hannah Jones are interested in becoming a surgeon, military pathologist, and vet, respectively, after being acknowledged for their academic performance with honours at the annual Synthite science prize. Sponsored by Mold-based chemical manufacturer Synthite, the prize endorses exceptional efforts in chemistry, biology, and physics. Dr Claire Cornmell, science teacher at Elfed, explained why the trio were selected. “Speaking as a science department about which students to put forward, those three names absolutely stood…

Cavegirl Fitness Training Group has raised over £5,000 for the Chemotherapy Day Unit at Glangwili Hospital by hosting an All Girl Tractor Run in July 2021. The Tractor Run started at Penfoel Farm and ended at the Railway Inn in Llanpumsaint. Participants enjoyed a hot drink and a bacon roll and had the opportunity to take part in a raffle. Lead Cancer Nurse Gina Beard said: “What an amazing sum of money! We are extremely grateful to the ladies from the Cavegirl Fitness Training Group. We are so humbled when the public choose to support our health board charity and…

The Conservative government’s stealth tax raid will cost the average family in Wales £370 a year by 2026, or a total of £500 million, research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. The figures show the scale of the cost to families of the government’s decision to freeze the personal tax allowance at £12,570 and higher rate tax threshold at £50,270 until 2025/26, compounding the growing cost of living crisis. The new analysis by the House of Commons Library has found an additional 85,000 people on low pay in Wales will be paying income tax by 2026, while a further…

Maps revealing areas of the world’s forests which have substantively changed over the past decade have been published through a European Space Agency (ESA) project that is managed and coordinated by Aberystwyth University. The space agency’s Climate Change Initiative Biomass project, which has brought together researchers from across Europe, has developed a way of estimating the weight of above ground components of forests. The research uses satellite data to produce high resolution maps showing which of the planet’s forests are being lost or expanding. They illustrate substantive losses of forests through tropical deforestation and timber harvesting in the Amazon and…

A long-lost painting by a renowned Maesteg artist is set to be displayed in the town’s redeveloped town hall. Christopher Williams’ artworks have been on display in Maesteg Town Hall since 1934 and are now set to be joined by another artwork which was thought to be long lost. The painting, which depicts the Llynfi Ironworks – his only known landscape of his beloved Maesteg – had been kept in storage since 1971 and was tracked down by a relative of the artist. Once restored to its original glory, the rediscovered landscape will be displayed at Maesteg Town Hall in…

Ultrafast fibre to the premises broadband is on its way to two more rural communities in Powys, thanks to a pilot project led by the county council. The schemes in Aberedw and Glascwm, and in Dwyriw and Manafon were initially supported through Arwain, the county’s LEADER programme*, and have now received funding from the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through its Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme and Welsh Government through its Welsh Top Up. A survey of the existing infrastructure in the two communities is now being carried out by Broadway Partners – the supplier involved in…

Cardiff Council’s Cabinet will meet next week to consider a report recommending that public consultation can begin, ahead of proposals for the 2022 / 2023 budget being put forward next month. It comes after the Welsh Government’s Provisional Local Government Financial Settlement was announced in December, under which Cardiff Council would receive a 10.7% increase in general revenue funding. Although this represents an additional £52.6 million in cash terms, from that, Cardiff Council is required to cover the cost of a number of additional areas of expenditure, including the Real Living Wage in the care sector, National Insurance increases from…

The First Minister has announced the appointment of Rocio Cifuentes as the new Children’s Commissioner for Wales. Ms Cifuentes will take up the position in April 2022 when Sally Holland’s tenure as Commissioner ends. The Commissioner promotes and protects children’s rights and ensures that the Welsh Government’s policies and legislation benefit children and young people. Rocio Cifuentes is the chief executive of the Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team. EYST is Wales’ leading organisation supporting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “The role of Children’s Commissioner for Wales is an extremely important one – the…

If you can forgive the terrible pun in the title, and give this article a few minutes of your time, you may discover something to add to your list of current recipes. Or at least a new ingredient that is. As the culinary world gets smaller, and home cooks try to adapt foreign cuisines to their kitchens, new recipes and ingredients get discovered. People today are far more interested in trying different foods and tastes than perhaps they were twenty years ago. As a race, humans are more adventurous gastronomically speaking than in the past. And yet many ingredients that…